TERRAFORMING TERRA
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A model farm template is imagined as the central methodology. A broad range of timely science news and other topics of interest are commented on.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Coke and Pepsi Are Trying to Sell You Pretend Craft Soda

I grew up thinking coca cola was bullet proof as a business. I used to think the same way about a lot of other great successful businesses as well that have all hit the future with a dull thump.

What we are seeing here is the same type of panic we saw when those other business hit serious resistance. The beverage giants will continue but they will also continue to contract. After all you can buy water in a bottle and stevia sweetened tea with a shot of glucose for energy is something we can drink much more safely. The bottom line is that the consumer is looking for ways to consume pure energy safely. Win that and the customers will support you.

I think that it is possible and the market pressures will ensure it happens quickly. There is a reason they prevented stevia from been legal until recently...

Enter the new savior: "craft soda." Just as the globe's two dominant
beer conglomerates are seeing their own US sales decline while dozens of
upstart brewers stage a fast-growing craft-beer renaissance, Big Soda
has watched small players like Jones Soda and Reed's grow rapidly, defying the long-term soda slump.

And just like Big Beer, the soda giants are taking the approach of,
"If you can't beat 'em, buy' em or imitate 'em." The incentive is clear.
Not only are craft sodas growing in popularity while the overall
category shrinks, but the price they fetch in the market is much
sweeter. As 12-pack of 12-oz Pepsis sells for as little as $5; Reed's
gets that much for a four-pack of its ginger ale.

PepsiCo recently announced plans for a line of "craft" sodas called
Stubborn, in flavors including black cherry with tarragon, orange
hibiscus, pineapple cream, and agave vanilla cream, the Associated Press
reports.Sweetened with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, they'll
initially be served at soda fountains, through a special machine that
delivers what the company has called
a "tap-like pouring ritual." (Apparently, convenience-store clerks
overseeing these contraptions will have to supply their own hipster
mustaches.)

The imminent Stubborn launch (the date hasn't been announced) isn't
Pepsi's first dip of the toe into the burgeoning alt-soda market.
Earlier this year, it launched Mountain Dewshine, a clear,
sugar-sweetened version of the creepy-green, corn syrup- and
caffeine-laden beverage. Employing a clumsy backwoods marketing scheme
likening the soft drink to illicit moonshine, PepsiCo underlines the
"craft" nature of Dewshine by making it available only in glass bottles.
Last year, the company rolled out
Caleb's Kola, a "blend of sustainable Fair Trade cane sugar, kola nuts
from Africa, a special blend of spices from around the world, and a hint
of citrus." ("'Caleb' is Caleb Bradham, who in the 1890s developed the
recipe for Pepsi," Bloomberg reports.)

Rival Coca-Cola has is also testing the crafty waters. In June, the company snapped up
the Hansen's and Blue Sky "natural soda" brands—apparently, the first
move made by its new Craft Beverages unit, which Coca-Cola formed back
in March, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company
has yet to launch a homegrown craft line, but given that it saw fit to
devote an entire unit to the concept, it's a fair bet that we'll be
hearing about a craft Coke project soon.

The question is, will donning the "artisanal" halo be enough to revive Big Soda's flagging fortunes?

I think not. The craft beer industry has grown dramatically in recent
years because people grew tired of low-flavor products like Bud and
Miller and began seeking out more robust alternatives. With soft drinks,
though, people aren't just seeking out more flavorful high-sugar fizzy
beverages. They're mainly just cutting back on high-sugar beverages,
period, because it's becoming more and more clear that huge jolts of
sweetness deliver horrible health consequences, from obesity and diabetes to (possibly) Alzheimer's.

As my colleague Maddie Oatman reported
back in March, the World Health Organization recommends that people
consume no more than 25 grams (about six teaspoons) of added sugar per
day. A 12-oz serving of Mountain Dewshine delivers 42 grams of sugar—roughly equal to the sugar content of regular Mountain Dew
(46 grams). The Big Soda business model thrived when people didn't
think twice about swilling down several Mountain Dews per day. Consumers
who are now shying away from Mountain Dew because of its sugar content
aren't likely to revert to their old habit just because Dewshine comes
in glass bottles (and is pricier, to boot).

People like soda. They’re just not drinking soda as much as they
used to because it’s not part of their diet anymore," said Jonathan
Texeira, co-owner of beverage distributor Refreshments Direct and the Batch Craft Soda
brand. "Occasionally, they’re gonna want a root beer, say, once or
twice a week, and when they do, they would like to have a really good
root beer."

There are two problems for Big Soda in that last sentence. The first
is that when people want a "really good root beer," why would they turn
to Coke or Pepsi, best known for mass-produced swill, when so many
small, regional soda makers are popping up? The second is the "once or
twice a week" bit. The entire Big Soda business model—its vast
factories, its freight fleets, its distribution deals with retailers
like Walmart—is predicated on churning out and selling vast amounts of
cheap product to a public that sees soda as a daily staple, not a treat.
I predict craft soda will remain a niche market—one not likely to bring
the fizz back to Pepsi and Coke sales.

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About Me

Jan 2015 - 3 Mil Pg Views, March 2013 - Posted my paper introducing CLOUD COSMOLOGY & NEUTRAL NEUTRINO rigorously described, September 2010 I am pleased to report that my essay titled A NEW METRIC WITH APPLICATIONS TO PHYSICS AND SOLVING CERTAIN HIGHER ORDERED DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS' has been published in Physics Essays(AIP) and appeared in their June 2010 quarterly. 40 years ago I took an honors degree in applied mathematics from the University of Waterloo. My interest was Relativity and my last year there saw me complete a 900 level course under Hanno Rund on his work in relativity,as well as differential geometry(pure math) and of course analysis. I continued researching new ideas and knowledge since that time and I have prepared a book for publication titled 'Paradigms Shift'. I maintain my blog as a day book and research tool to retain data and record impressions and interpretations on material read. Do join my blog and receive Four items of interest daily Monday through Saturday.